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On January 1, 2026, people gathered at the Juyong Pass, a section of the Great Wall known as Juyongguan, in Beijing, China, to celebrate the New Year.
Maxim Shemetov | Reuters
In the Asia-Pacific region, stock markets mostly trended downward on Monday. This decline followed a weekend of geopolitical tensions and the release of significant economic data from China.
During the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump engaged in a heated exchange with European leaders over Greenland. Trump threatened to impose tariffs on eight European nations, insisting on U.S. control over Greenland, a territory affiliated with Denmark.
European officials were quick to denounce these threats as “completely wrong” and “unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, in Asia, China unveiled its economic performance data for the fourth quarter, including statistics on retail sales, urban investment, and industrial production from December.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index tumbled 1.07%, and the mainland Chinese CSI 300 fell marginally.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.65% and ended at 53,583.57, marking three straight losing sessions, while the Topix was down marginally to 3,656.4. Yields on long term Japanese Government Bonds climbed to fresh records.
The benchmark 10-year JGB yield hit a high of 2.279%, its highest level since 1999. Yields on 20- and 30-year JGBs also hit record highs.
South Korea’s markets bucked the wider trend, with the Kospi up 1.32%, finishing at 4,904.66 while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 1.44% and ended at 968.36.
Automaker Hyundai touched a record high as its shares surged as much as 17.92% Monday.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.33% to 8,874.5, dragged by tech stocks.
On the commodities front, both prices of spot silver and gold hit record highs. Silver was last up over 3.88% to $93.38 per ounce, and gold last traded 1.72% higher at $4,673.96 per ounce.
On Friday in the U.S., the S&P 500 ended just below the flatline and posted a losing week, while the Nasdaq Composite also inched down 0.06%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.17%.
The three major indexes hit their session lows after Trump said in the White House on Friday that he’d rather have National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett stay in his current role and that he might not be chosen to become the next U.S. Fed chair.
Hassett has been seen as the more market-friendly option to replace current Fed chair than the new frontrunner nominee, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, and is expected to be more willing to keep rates low.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
